Backing of East Coast business elite key to Scott Brison’s Liberal bid

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This article was published 18/06/2006 (7398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HALIFAX (CP) – The captains of East Coast industry are quietly lining up to offer their financial support to

Scott Brison, Nova Scotia’s dark-horse candidate in the federal Liberal leadership race.

Attracted by promises of cuts to corporate taxes, the province’s business elite is showing unusual solidarity in their support of the Tory-turned-Liberal MP from the Annapolis Valley.

“There was a certain reluctance in the past to be seen to be supporting anybody,” said John Risley, Canada’s leading fishery tycoon. “People would rather be doing it covertly and behind the scenes.

“There’s less reticence about that today . . . It’s the responsibility of the business community to give him a boost.”

The push started in late May, when Risley became one of four businesspeople to loan Brison $20,000 to start his campaign.

Risley then invited 25 people to his home on Nova Scotia’s south shore, to enjoy seafood and hear Brison speak.

It was a who’s who of province’s wealthy, including blueberry magnate John Bragg, owner of Oxford Frozen Foods and Eastlink cable, and Donald Sobey, director and shareholder in Empire Company Ltd. (TSX:EMP).

Everyone who attended received a follow-up call to ask for personal cheques worth $5,400 – the maximum allowed under federal rules.

Almost all said yes, say sources close to the campaign, creating a quick nest egg valued at about $100,000.

David Hennigar, who manages key investments for the Jodrey family’s consortium of companies, including Extendicare (TSX:EXE), co-hosted a cocktail mixer on June 8 at the posh Halifax Club, where 75 people were making minimum donations of $200.

“There hasn’t been many Maritime candidates,” notes Henniger. “The last one was Bob Stanfield, which puts you back 40 years.”

Michael Penner, Brison’s Montreal-based fundraising chairman, says he’s feeling buoyed by the power of the Atlantic connection, in an era where candidates need to cast a wider net for cash.

“We used to raise money for leaderships, no holds barred. The deep pockets were able to write cheques in any amount they wanted,” he said.

Now, to reach minimum goal of $1 million, candidates need a business network like the one the Nova Scotians have cobbled together.

Following a speech Friday to a group of Rotarians in Halifax, Brison, 39, emphasized he has support from other businesspeople, principally the Asper family in Winnipeg.

But he admits the Atlantic connection is key, and sets him apart from a raft of other Liberals who don’t have business backgrounds.

“I started my first business at the age of 19,” he said. “There is no one else on that stage who has as much experience in the private sector as I have.

“When I started my fridge company, some of these individuals invested in it and helped it along.”

With his shallow roots in the Liberal party, Brison is thought to be in the middle of pack of candidates, with front-runners like Michael Ignatieff, Gerard Kennedy and Bob Rae grabbing most of the headlines.

Only a handful of Nova Scotian MPs have endorsed Brison, who crossed the floor from the Tory benches shortly after Stephen Harper took over the federal Conservatives in late 2003.

Meanwhile, MPs such as Paul Zed of Saint John and Jean-Claude D’Amours and Geoff Regan of Halifax have joined the Ignatieff camp.

“The business elite in any community no longer has a lot of influence because of the bill that limits financial contributions,” Zed said in an interview.

“While there are business elites supporting certain candidates, it will boil down to what are Liberals doing and who are they supporting.”

At times, Brison’s business connections have also caused him political problems.

Last year, a scandal erupted after he was linked to an RCMP investigation into the alleged leak about the Liberals’ income trust announcement.

A day prior to the announcement, Brison told an acquaintance via e-mail that news was coming soon.

Brison admitted he used poor judgment, but insisted he had no inside knowledge.

In Halifax, John Risley said he’s aware of the challenges Brison faces, but plans to keep raising cash.

“We all know each other. The Atlantic Canadian business community is one that you can rely on to stick together,” he said.